Ilia Topuria will battle against a top striker at 145 pounds.
Las Vegas will host the Oct. 29 UFC bout between Edson Barboza (22-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC) and Topuria (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC).
MMA Junkie was able to confirm the matchup on Friday, but the source asked to remain anonymous due to the organization’s failure to make an official announcement at the time of writing. Initial coverage came from Eurosport Spain.
When Topuria made his lightweight debut in March, he defeated Jai Herbert with a second-round knockout. Despite being 25 years old, Barboza will battle the younger man in his own weight division.
He has fought four times and won two of them. It was Barboza’s first loss since beating Makwan Amirkhani and Shane Burgos in March.
Topuria vs. Barboza is the first Oct. 29 battle that has been confirmed.
